Billiard table



Feb. 14, 193.9. G. PROUST '2,147,107'

BLLIARD TABLE Filed Feb. 6, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet l Feb. 14, l1939. G. PROUST l 2,147,107.

' V BILIIARD TABLE Filed Feb. e, 1936 2 sheets-sheet 2 5155.7 i) Q M s \f,. i

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[y JJ Patented Fiel. 14, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BILLIARD TABLE Gilbert Proust, Paris,vFrance Application February 6, 1936, Serial In France February 8, 1935 s claims.

l tables of a substantially uniform type and allow y but little variation in the general construction of the billiard table. Furthermore, they necessitate the use of wooden pieces of large size and. very careful selection, so that the construction is both complicated and expensive. f

1 Furthermore, the table proper, or surface on which the ball is to run, is made of suitable thickness. f

Slate is'chosen because of its property of having a smooth surface. But, from other points of view, 20'V it has. many drawbacks. For instance 1t is brittle and splits under the effect of violent shocks as it may undergo in some cases in the course of Vthe game. Furthermore, slate is porous and very easily absorbs moisture. This moisture is transmitted to the cloth stretched on the slate plates which then presents a resistance to the Vrolling displacement of the balls thereon. Finally, slate CIL is heavy. It is therefore impossible to make the.

table proper of a monolithic piece of slate and it is necessaryto divide said table into a plurality of plates the joining of which is always very delicate in View of the diculty of cutting edges of very accurate shape in slate.

A rst object ofthe present invention is to provide a construction Which permits of makingbilliard tables of all shapes, while ensuring an excellent rigidity and greatly reducing the vcost of manufacture of the billiard table.

For this purpose, accordingrto a first feature o of the invention, I combine', for the construction of the support or frame of the table proper, a system of metallic elements (for instance sectional pieces of iron or cast iron, metal sheets bent or rolled, etc.) with a wooden frame.

5. Another object of the present inventionis toV substitute, for slate tables, tables of a moulded or similarly treated material, strengthened by ribs, ofa shape such that it can easily be tted on supports of'the .kind above mentioned. These )f tables do notr possess the disadvantages of slate tables. Furthermore, they can be planed meehanically, which permits of obtaining a more perfectand more rapid result than in the case of slate, which can be planed only manually. It

- is even possible, according to the present invention, to obtain a table proper which is moulded integrally with its support or a portion thereof. Furthermore, this arrangement permits of easily providing, for instance at the four corners of the table, supplementary ribs so as to form a slate plates of Y kind of housing or cup in which the feet-of the table can be engaged.

However, the plates obtained in this way are sonorous and resonate in a.Y disagreeable manner when billiard games are being played thereon.

In order to obviate this drawback, according to the present inventiomthe underside of the plates,

between the ribs, is provided with an insonorous material (preferably a layer of felt or cork fixed by means of plaster of Paris) Other'feature's of the present invention concern constructional details relating to the assembly of the parts ofthe table (such as table bed, support for said table bed and feet) .l These features will result from the following detailed description of some specific embodiments.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be hereinafter described, with reference to the accompanying drawings, given merely by way of example, and in which:

Fig'. 1 is a sectional view on the line I-I of Fig, 2,*of the upper part of the billiard table, showing the table proper mounted on a support made according to the invention, and also the assembly of the band frame with said support. A leg of theta'ble is shown in d otted lines;

Fig. 2is a plan view'corresponding to Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view corresponding to this embodiment, showing the assembly of a leg with the support of the table bed;

Fig; 4 shows an element of a table bed made, according to the present invention, of a moulded material, provided with an insonorous lining;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view of an arrangement of the frame and the table bed similar to that shown by Fig. 1, but with a table bed made according to Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a partial detail view of Fig. 5;`

Fig. '7 is aVY view of an angle of a billiard table made according to the embodiment of Figs. 5 and 6, thisview being more especially intended to show how the legs may be'attached to the table proper; Y

` Fig. 8'shows, by Way'of example, the assembly of two parts Yof the table. y

According to the present invention, in the embodiment illustrated by the drawings, the table frame consists of metallic elements, such for inof the structure stance as sectional irons l, of suitable shape, as-

sembled together in any suitable manner, for instance by welding. Gusset plates I 0 are provided at the corners of the table. Some of these sectional irons, to wit la, form the rim or periphery of the table frame for the table top or bed, while. others, to wit lb, form intermediate cross members.

The rim rIa is reinforced by a wooden frame 2, xed to the assembly of the sectional irons by means of screws 3, and other fixation devices which will be hereinafter described, so as to obtain a very complete connection of the wooden frame 2 with the iron rim Ia.

If the support for the table proper were made entirely of iron or sectional elements of iron or steel, such an assembly would have an elasticity so great that it would bend under the action of the weight of the table proper. which, for ordinary uses, would be without im.- portance is, in the case of a billiard table, wholly prohibitive, since the table would cease to be perfectly flat and perfectly horizontal.

It is therefore necessary to combine the sectional irons with a substance which is wholly rigid, that is to say a substance which undergoes practically no bending deformation up to a certain load. The most efcient of all these substances is wood.

The table proper rests on the support, said table proper being shown at 4. It consists of' panels the joints 5 of which are located above cross members Ib and which are assembled together by means of spindles or equivalent pieces'.

Ther elastic band of the'billiard table is supported by a second frame 6 carrying at its upper vpart the usual rubber band 1. This frame 6 is assembled to the table proper and the support for said table by means of screws 8-9 the heads of which are embedded in the thickness of frame 6. Some of these screws, such as 8, penetrate into the table bed. The others, such as 9 are screwed in the wooden frame 2 of the support and in sectional iron Ia rigid with said frame. Preferably, as shown by the drawings, these screws are positioned in staggered relation.

The leg is wholly independent of the table and the table support, while, prior to this invention, the upper part of the leg served for the assembly of the table support. Therefore, with the arrangement according to the present invention, it is possible to place the leg at any suitable point of the table bed and to give any desired shape to said leg. Y

In Fig. 3, I have shown an arrangement for fixing the leg to the table bed. Y

The leg is provided with a veitical hole I I and with a horizontal slot I2 opening into said hole close to the lower end thereof. For assembling the elements, I place the leg under the table, in one of the angles, for instance under gusset III, after having made a hole in said gusset in register with hole II. Through slot I2, I place nut I3 in position and I screw a threaded rod I4 into hole II and nut I3. Once the rod has been fitted in position, I screw on the upper part thereof a nut I5 which acts as a lock nut.

VIt is possible, incombination with the support of Figs. 1 and 2, to make use of a special table bed, made of a moulded materal, provided with reinforcing ribs and with an insonorous lining.

In Fig. 4, I have shown at 2|, an element of such a table, made of a suitable material, obtained by moulding or in a similar manner. This element is intended to replace the usual slate plates serving to form the table bed. This plate is provided with ribs 22 intended to stiiTen it. It is rendered insonorous by the addition of an insonorous matter 23 disposed on the under side, between the ribs.

In Fig. 5, I have shown an assembly analogous to that illustrated by Fig. 1, in which the end This deflectionrib 24 on the edge is sufficiently long for replacing sectional iron I.

In Fig. 6, this arrangement is shown in elevational view, the edge 6 being supposed to have been removed. Attention is called to holes 8a and 9a provided for the passage of screws 8 and 9. At the place of holes 8a, plate 2I is preferably reinforced, as visible at 35.

-In Fig. '7, the ribs 24 form, at the angles, together with ribs 32, a kind of box or housing into which is engaged the upper end of one of the legs which support the billiard table. At 33-34,

I have shown holes for horizontal screws, not n shown, for the fixation of the leg.

In Fig. 8, I have shown an assembly including a joint between two adjacent plates 2Ia and 2lb. The first of these plates forms a recess 31 and the second is provided with a corresponding ange 38. The assembly is obtained through screws 39, and, preferably studs 40.

If a' greater strength is desired, both elements are provided` with vertical flanges 4I, 42, which are secured to each other through any suitable means, for instance bolts 43.

The billiard table structure which has just beenV described permits of locating the legs of the table at any suitable place, of giving them an attractive shape, and of giving the table a relatively small thickness. It follows that billiard tables made according to the invention may be tted with a removable top of a style corresponding to that of the legs and of the lateral parts which form the periphery of the table, whereby the structure may be given the aspect of an ordinary table or desk of any desired shape or style. Y

What I claim is:

l. A billiard table comprising in combination a support made of a metallic frame and of a wood frame surrounding said metallic frame and rigidly clamped thereto, removable legs fitted to said metallic frame, a bed resting on said support, cushion rails surrounding the wood frame and the bed, horizontal means for clamping the cush-` ion rails, the wood frame and the metallic frame together, horizontal means staggered with the first named horizontal means, for clamping the cushion rails to the bed.

2. A billiard table comprising in combination a bed made of a molded material, support for said bed comprising a flange projecting downwardly from the bed itself and of a wooden frame located in the angle of said projecting flange and clamped to the flange, cushion rails surrounding the wooden frame and the bed, horizontal means for clamping the cushion rails, the wooden frame and the downturned flange of the bed together, horizontal means for clamping the cushion rails to the bed, and removable legs fixed to the bed.

3. A billiard table comprising in combination a bed made of a molded material, a support made of a peripheral downwardly turned iiange projecting from said bed and of a wooden frame clamped to the bed in the angle of said flange, ribs in each corner of the bed at right angles with the said flange and legs inserted and xed in the housings limited by the ribs and flanges, said legs having their upper ends abutting the underface of the bed.

GILBERT PROUST. 

